Shankarpali – Shakarpara – Sweet Diamond Cuts

Shankarpali is a sweet crispy diamond-shaped snack that is quite popular in the Konkan belt of India. This bite-sized treat is made with just a handful of ingredients.

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Shankarpali is a popular sweet crispy snack from Western India. This sweet maida biscuit is also called shakkarpara or shakar pare. In the Northern states, it is known as khurma or laktho and the South Indian version is called murali. Sometimes it is also known as lakdi mithai or just mithai, especially in Indian communities in Fiji, Guyana, and Trinadad & Tobago.

It is a bit similar to our Kulkuls, without the colour though. It’s also a lot like the Gur Para that the Punjabis make using jaggery instead of sugar.

The word Shakarpara or Shakarpare is derived from the Persian word ‘Shekarpareh’. Shekar in Persian and Shakkar (शकार) in Hindi both mean sugar. Even the Turks have a slightly similar version of this called şekerpare which means ‘a piece of sweetness’.

Our aunt’s cook, Kanta is a native of Nagpur and makes this often for us. So let’s see how easy it is to make this crispy sweet diamond-cut snack that we all know as Shankarpali.

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What Ingredients Do You Need to Make Shakarpara?

All you need to make these tasty Shakar Pare is maida, sugar, milk, sojee or semolina, ghee, and for flavour add crushed cardamom pods. Oil or ghee for frying.

How To Make Shakkarpara – Sweet Diamond Cuts

In a thala (a wide-bottomed pan), mix in the flour, semolina, and ghee. Melt the sugar in the milk and pour this into the thala over the flour and ghee and mix it. Then crush a few cardamom pods and dust the powder onto the flour. Knead the flour well into a dough and make tiny portions. Cover with a cloth and set aside for a while.

After about 15 to 20 minutes, roll the dough into a sheet, one portion at a time, and cut it into diagonal shapes using a knife.

The shapes do not have to be perfect. Kanta cuts them randomly for us. But she says it’s important to keep the other dough balls with a wet cloth covered so they stay moist.

Heat oil in a kadai and when hot enough, add in the cut diamond-shapes and fry. When the shaparkara is cooked it will rise to the surface. You can then turn over to the other side and cook till they are golden brown. Remove the shankarpali from the hot oil with a sieve and drain the excess oil.

Place the shankarpali on a plate and allow them to cool, you can use a kitchen towel or tissue roll to drain the oil.

You can serve the crispy Shankar pali just as it is or dip it into a sugarmel to give it a sugary coating! We prefer the version without the frosting! 🙂

Recipe Pointers For Shakkarpara Recipe

• The shankar pali dough should be stiff and not too soft.
• The Indian sweet diamond cuts do not need to be perfect. You can also cut squares or thicker shapes if you like.
• If you have a sweet tooth, coat with sugar.
• Do not allow the ghee or oil to get too hot or they will burn. Make sure you fry on a medium flame.
• Use water and sugar to make a thick sugarmel frosting, if you are sugar coating the shakarpara.
• Other veg cookies you can try are the Maltese kwarezimal or the nankhatai.

Answers to your Questions About Shankarpali Recipe

What is Shankarpali?

Shankarpali or Shakarpara is a sweet crispy fried biscuit that is quite popular in Maharashtra in Western India. It is also called khurma, laktho, lakdi mithai or murali in other Indian states.

Can i make Shakarpara Sweeter?

Yes, of course, you can. The biscuit itself has a bit of sugar in it, so if you are trying to save on the calories, there is no need to coat it with sugar. But if you want it sweeter, add a sugar frosting on top.

What does Shakarpara mean?

Shakar means sugar in Hindi, I’m not sure what para or pare means. If anyone knows, please do let us know.

What other recipes are similar to this?

You can try our Kulkuls made using combs or even the Carambolas recipe. Both are very similar. It’s just the colour and shapes that differ, and also we add eggs in kulkuls.

What are Sweet Diamond Cuts?

Sweet Diamond Cuts are just another way of saying sweet maida biscuits or Shakarpara in English. The name is basically taken from the shape of the Shankarpali.

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